Less than a hundred kilometres to go…

Two members of the team are really not feeling very well at all. Nonetheless, the expedition is still progressing, providing a fine example of courage and sportsmanship...

The two people struggling in the group are the Lebanese, Max Chaya, and Evelyn Binsack, from Switzerland. Max is suffering from pain in his hips, while Evelyn is experiencing general physical weakness. Max says that he feels like a Ferrari running out of petrol. As a direct result of these problems, the group's progress is slower than before.

Under different circumstances and if they had been further away from the pole (by 25th December, they were at 89°13' S!), it is likely that Max and Evelyn would have been picked up by plane. But the very fact that each day takes them closer to the pole has prompted the team to do everything they can to make it together to the Amundsen-Scott base.

This means that everyone is helping each other out. The stronger members of the group are hauling Evelyn's sledge, relieving her of the load. They have also lightened Max's sledge so that he has less weight to pull. The same altruism prevails in terms of food. At the evening meal, the three stronger men are eating less and giving part of their rations to Max and Evelyn, enabling them to benefit from a higher number of calories. and, of course, the fit adventurers are also helping their two ailing companions as much as possible during the day.

This has resulted in slower progress but, as the weather has been fine for a number of days now, they persist in advancing each day (they could have taken a few days' rest on the ice) no matter what. They are scheduled to arrive at the South Pole on 28th or 29th December.

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